TAMPA - Before his preseason debut Sunday against Buffalo, the last
time we saw Ruslan Fedotenko in action for the Lightning, he was the man
of the hour after a game of a lifetime. Fedotenko, a player more accustomed
to the shadows than the spotlight, scored both goals in Tampa Bay's 2-1
win against Calgary in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals.

For Fedotenko, it was a perfect ending to what had been a prosperous
postseason. In 22 playoff games in the spring of 2004, Fedotenko scored
12 goals, only five shy of his regular-season total.

"It was just finding the groove," Fedotenko recalled Thursday. "You
get that going, you have confidence, the team is playing well, you're playing
well, and you just get into that groove. You have one good game, then you
say to yourself, 'Hey, why can't you do that every game?' It was unbelievable."

Tampa Bay coach John Tortorella loved every minute of Fedotenko's postseason
heroics, especially considering he benched the personable Fedotenko a few
months earlier for not producing. Now, 16 months after Fedotenko's shining
moment, Tortorella wonders which Fedotenko will return to the Lightning
this season.

There's no doubt which one Tortorella prefers.

"I think this is a huge year for Rusty to really come onto the scene,"
Tortorella said. "We expect big things out of him this year. He had just
a super playoff, but now I'm anxious to see if that carries over to the
inconsistent regular-season part. That would be huge for us."

Fedotenko's inconsistent past is not the only question mark entering
his third season in Tampa Bay. The 26-year-old right wing underwent surgery
on his left hip in the spring, forcing him to start slow in training camp.
The hip, which needed surgery to repair a torn labrum, required regular
cortisone shots the past two seasons.

In his first game back, Fedotenko played nearly 18 minutes Sunday, a
long way from the four weeks he spent in bed after surgery. For now, he
says he feels good and expects to be ready for the season opener Wednesday
at home against Carolina. If healthy, Fedotenko said his goal is to build
on his playoff success rather than allow it to be his defining moment.

"I want to get even better," said Fedotenko, who signed a one-year,
$1.3 million contract in June after the lockout ended. "Maybe be the way
I was in the playoffs ... try to do that every regular-season game. I can
be more beneficial to the team."

Fedotenko will start the season playing on a line with talented play-makers
Vinny Lecavalier and Vinny Prospal, which should provide him with ample
scoring chances. But for Fedotenko to cash in consistently, he'll need
to play with the energy and determination he showed in the 2004 postseason.

"Consistency is the key thing, and he hasn't crossed that completely
yet," Tortorella said.

Fedotenko was one of the few Lightning players who did not play during
the lockout. He took time off to rest his hip, and when that didn't completely
solve the problem, he opted for surgery. Now, he wants to prove his playoff
push was no fluke.

"When I got traded here in 2002 from Philadelphia, I had been in the
NHL for two years. You feel kind of young," Fedotenko said. "You kind of
learn and grow into a different situation. The playoffs, it was a great
experience, but now it's a whole new season, a new life. Now it's time
for the next step, the next chapter."